There is so much in life we don’t know and we don’t understand. When Mary was visited by the angel Gabriel and given the momentous news that the Holy Spirit would overshadow her and she would conceive a baby who would be the Saviour of the world, her response was one of amazed obedience: ‘May your word to me be fulfilled.’ (Luke 1:38) I think it’s highly doubtful she fully understood what she was being told, but she was prepared to trust.

Understanding is often seen as the goal. When we are surrounded by mysterious circumstances, when we cannot see the future, when heartache hits like a hurricane and we are swept off our feet, we want to understand. Often, we are simply incapable of understanding. But God tells us we can trust and obey, even when we don’t understand. As today’s song reminds us of the truths behind that angelic announcement, as it has the advantage of looking back on the life of Jesus with the benefit of hindsight, we need to remember that God is working all things together for good, even when we don’t see how that possibly be the case or how that can happen.

‘Mary, did you know that your baby boy will one day walk on water?
Mary, did you know that your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?
Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you’ve delivered will soon deliver you.

Mary, did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary, did you know that your baby boy will one day rule the nations?
Did you know that your baby boy is heaven’s perfect Lamb?
This sleeping child you’re holding is the great I am.’ (‘Mary, Did You Know?’, Jeremy Camp)

Today was the Mums & Toddlers’ Christmas party, enjoyed by both groups in equal measure, I would say!

First arrivals:

Having fun playing:

As at all parties, there was food to eat!

There was a visit from Santa:

.. and presents to receive:

Even the Mums got their own presents!

… though some tried to hide from the camera!

Many thanks to the volunteers who helped, to those who provided home baking and presents and to all who attended! Happy Christmas!

In the hustle and bustle of life, especially when people are extremely busy, we need to take time out to pause and gaze on God. Today’s song ‘Sanctuary‘ enables us to do just that. Written as a lullaby, it reminds us that Jesus is the prince of peace and because of Him, fear can be gone, for love has come; hope has dawned. It’s always good to pause in our busyness, to build time into our schedules to be still and know that He is God. (Ps 46:10)

‘Peace is here, fear is gone.

Love has come, hope has dawned.

He will be a sanctuary,

Let our hearts not be afraid.

Dwelling here with us forever,

Jesus Christ is born today.

Mary sings her lullaby

Love is born, this holy night.

Hallelujah, our everlasting life

Hallelujah.’ (‘Sanctuary’, Aaron Shust)

In concluding our studies on 1 John, we discussed the things we have learned from the whole letter. One of the things that has particularly struck us in the number of times John uses the words ‘we know.’ (see 1 John 2:3, 13, 18-19, 20, 29, 3:3, 14, 16, 19-20, 24; 4:13, 16; 5:2, 13, 15, 18-20). There is a black-and-white quality to John’s writing which is at odds with the world’s current obsession with ‘tolerance’ and ‘uncertainty.’ Whilst there are many things we freely admit we do not know, here are some of the things John is adamant we do know!

We know God.

We know Jesus. We know He is righteous. We know and rely on His love.

We know truth. Everything in life has to be measured against God’s truth to see if it is authentic or counterfeit.

We know our relationship to God – we are His beloved children.

We know the world’s relationship to God – it is under the control of the evil one, but is loved by God and therefore we love the sinner, even as we hate the sin.

We know obedience is the outworking of love.

We know we have eternal life.

We know God listens to us and hears us.

We know we have what we ask of God.

We know we have a personal relationship with God.

Today, if you’re wrestling with all the things you don’t know or don’t have answers for, come back to John’s list of what we do know and rest in these truths.

Coca-Cola use the slogan ‘it’s the real thing‘ to market their soft drink:

John is adamant that God is the ‘real thing.’  At the end of his first epistle, he writes ‘We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.‘ (1 John 5:20) This emphasis on Jesus being true is reiterated in his gospel (see John 15:1 where Jesus is described as the ‘true vine’; John 6:32, where He is described as the ‘true bread from heaven’ and John 1:9, where He is described as the ‘true light’, not to mention Rev 19:11, where He is described as ‘Faithful and True‘.) Eternal life, which John reminds us is one of the things we can know we have (1 John 5:13), is described as knowing the true God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent.

One of the reasons idolatry is so futile and harmful is because it involves worship of something which is not genuinely able to help us. Hab 2:18-19 and Ps 135:15-18 remind us that that which is created by human hands, even if adorned with silver or gold, cannot actually help us. Idolatry does not simply refer to wooden or metal statues, of course. An idol is any kind of false god, anything which comes in the place of supremacy which only God deserves. We can put ourselves or other people in this place. We can end up valuing work (or the riches work brings) so much that it takes God’s place. Our hearts are deceitful (Jer 17:9) and we need to guard against this tendency to substitute the false for the genuine. John urges us to abide in Christ throughout this letter and reminds us that ‘we are in Him who is in true by being in His Son Jesus Christ.’ The ‘in Him’ statements in the New Testament are vast (see, for example, Col 1:17, 19; Eph 1:4, 7 , 13; 2 Cor 5:21; Col 2:6-7; 1 Thess 4:14). The One who holds all things together in the universe and in whom all the fullness of God dwells lives in us. His righteousness is given to us; we are rooted and built up in Him and will ultimately be raised to everlasting life if we die in Him. Why settle for a substitute? Let’s dwell in the real thing, the only true God!

John’s first letter was written, it seems, to counter some of the heresies faced by the early Christians and not surprisingly, therefore, the final verses look at knowing Him who is true and keeping ourselves from idols. (1 John 5:18-21) The false teachers mentioned throughout the letter and denounced as antichrists (1 John 2:18-23) are those who are counterfeit: not genuine, not authentic, no matter how they may initially seem.

The Bank of England informs us that although there were 2,500 prosecutions for passing forged notes last year and some £25 million was seized, one banknote in a hundred in circulation is a forgery, and numbers are on the increase. Being able to recognise forged notes is crucial. A genuine £5 note should:

• feel crisp (Banknotes are printed on special paper that gives them their unique feel. By running your finger across the front of the £5 note you can feel raised print in areas such as the words ‘Bank of England’.)
• have a metallic strip, (There is a metallic thread embedded in every banknote. This appears as silver dashes on the back of the £5 note. If you hold the note up to the light the metallic thread will appear as a continuous dark line.)
• a watermark (Queen’s head)
• sharp clear printing. (Using a magnifying glass, look closely at the lettering beneath the Queen’s portrait on the £5 note – you will see the value of the note written in small letters and numbers.)
• check the ultra violet feature (If you look at the front of the £5 note under a good quality ultra-violet light, the number 5 appears in bright red and green whilst the background remains dull in contrast.)
• Check the hologram (There is a hologram on the foil patch on the front of the £5 note. If you tilt the note, the image will change between a brightly coloured picture of Britannia and the number 5.)

Counterfeit goods (colloquially known as ‘knock-offs’) are big business for many people, reproducing goods such as shoes, boots, clothes, perfume, jewellery or electronic goods that are not genuinely made by the designer on the label. Sometimes, we are deceived into receiving forgeries or counterfeit goods. In the same way, the god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers (2 Cor 4:4) and we are prone to walk in darkness at times without the true light to illuminate our hearts (see 1 John 2:11, John 1:9). At other times, we choose deliberately to purchase such goods because they are cheaper and feed our need for status and apparent importance. Idols – false substitutes for God, the illusory rather than the real (Blaikclock), clever facsimiles (The Message) – are much less demanding than God, who wants us to surrender our whole lives to Him. (Mark 8:34-37, Rom 12:1-2) But we need to understand that no substitute for God will ever satisfy and have to search our hearts continually to ensure we flee from idolatry. (1 Cor 10:14)